Improvement in automatic-telegraph apparatus



0. HEIKEL.

Automatic Telegraph Apparatus. N0.167,242. PatentedAug. 31,1875.

YN PETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT ,OFFIcE.

,OTTO HEIKEL, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

IMPRQVEMEN'I' IN AUTOMATIC-TELEGRAPH APPARATUS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 167,242., dated August31, 1875 application filed J one 5, 1875.

. construction, that is adapted to work with weak currents, and I use acircuit preserving and reversing key, that serves to maintain a metallicconnection in the line, but change the direction of the currents.

In thedrawing, Figure lis a plan of the apparatus. Fig. 2 is anelevation of the same, partially in section. Fig. 3 is a section of thepolarized relay-instrument. Fig. 4 is a plan in larger size of the key.Fig. 5 is a section of the receiving-instrument, and Fig. 6 is amodification of the instrument in connection with a magneto-electricmachine.

I make use of a wheel or drum or bar, a, moved by suitable power appliedthrough the worm-pinion b and gear b, or otherwise, and this wheel,drum, or bar a is the composing wheel. It consists of a narrow groovebetween flanges, with wires 2 2 passing through these flanges, and uponwhich wires are the small rollers 3 3, of a length less than half thewidth of the groove. These drums, wheels, or bars a are of suitablesize, and are easily removed from the mechanism and others inserted, orthe bars added in succession by connecting one with the other, and thecompositor or operator moves the small rollers 3 3 to the right or leftupon their wires, so as to bring the rollers into a position to operateupon the key 0, or not, according to the system of dots or dots anddashes used for the alphabet. In this way the message is composed, a-ndthe operator holds the little rollers from end movement by a cord, d,laid in between them, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, and this cordshould be elastic, and laid in as the cylinder wheel or bar is movedduring the composing of the message. If this wheel is large enough tocontain an average message, then it will be unnecessary to use acylinder; otherwise a drum or cylinder may be used with a screw-formedgroove around its periphery, within which are the rollers 3, and thiscylinder can be of any desired size. It will, however, require anendwise movement upon the shaft as vit revolves in contact with the key0, or else the key must be moved laterally,

so as to conform to the spiral of the cylinder.

The spring-key c is provided with a roller or rounded end to the armthat extends upward, as shown in full lines in Fig. 2, or downward, asin dotted lines, and the rollers 3, acting against the arm of the key,move the same. If it is a single key the circuit will be broken by amovement in one direction, and closed by a movement in the otherdirection. If it is a circuit-preserving key, a rise and fall of tensionmay be produced ora reversal of the polarity of the current. I haveshown the reversing-key c in Fig. 4, wherein the current passes from thebinding-screw 7 through the wire 8, arm 9, spring 10, and wire 11 toearth, the negative returning from line through 12, spring 13, arm 14,and wire 15, and bindingscrew 18 to battery. When the key is depressedthe contact is made between screws 16 and 17, and springs 10 and 13, andbroken between the arms 9 and 14 and these springs, so that the currentpasses in the opposite direction, going by 7, 17, 13, and 12 to line,and returning by 11, 10,16, and 18 tobattery. This is a convenientconstruction of reversing-key that' may be used either by hand or in thetelegraph-instrument aforesaid. I remark that the wires will be in thewooden bed instead of being outside the parts, as represented forgreater clearness. The receiving-instrument I employ is shown in Fig. 5,wherein the lever Z carries at one end a roller, 1 that is in theinkfount Z and is pressed up against the under side of the strip ofpaper to mark the same, said paper being drawn along regularly beneaththe projecting blade m by the rollers m The other end of the lever 1forms a core or polarized armature within the helix n, and it is movedto either side, according to the polarity of the current sent, saidlever being attracted or repelled by the magnetism of itself and thestationary magnets a. This polarized relay is made of a swingingcircuit-changer, 0, within the helix 1), and centered inthe yoke q, towhich yoke q the line or battery wrie is connected at 22,

and the other battery-wires 23 24 are connected to the circuit-closingpoints 25 26, between which the circuit changer 0 swings.

The permanent magnets r and s are applied at the ends of the helix p,and the ends of the circuit-changer 0 are between the poles of thesemagnets, and by using a keeper-bar upon the poles of these magnets theyare more durable and rapid in their action. According to the directionof the current in the helix p, so the circuit-changer 0 will bepolarized, and be moved one way or the other, according to theattraction between its ends and the stationary magnets r s, and thecircuits from the batteries u will be closed one way or the otherthrough 0 to the receiving-instrument; thus a positive or negativecurrent will be transmitted, and the instrument, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, workas a relay. If, however, this instrument is not required as a relay, theswinging needle 0 can be used as a visual telegraph.

In the present instrument a helix, w, surrounds the bar 00, thatconnects these two per manent magnets r s, and the helix is in the samemetallic circuit as the line and the helix 1), so that the pulsationspassing through the instrument will polarize the circuit-changer 0, andalso intensify the permanent magnets, so that the attraction of thecircuit-changer is instantaneous, with only a feeble current, and thesame operations take place upon reversing the current; hence the localcircuit to the receiving-instrument shown in Fig. 5 is closed either oneway or the other, and theink-roller is pressed against the paper to markthe same by a current of one polarity, or else the roller is drawn backfrom the paper by a current of the vopposite polarity.

The transmitting-instruments shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and hereinbeforedescribed, may be used with a magneto-electric machine of any suitableconstruction for transmitting messages with great rapidity. In Fig. 6the mag netoelectric machine is illustrated, and it is to be connectedso as to give pulsations of alternate opposite polarity, and themagnetoelectric machine is to be connected by gearing to the mechanismthat moves the trough of circuitrollers 3 along, and the construction issuch that a positive pulsation passes through one of the rollers and anegative through the next, when they are all in line with thecircuit-closing lever 0; hence, to interrupt any pulsation it is onlynecessary to push one of the rollers back out of line with thecircuit-closer. By this construction the.

operator is able to compose his message and send positive and negativepulsations alternately or at intervals, according to the character ofthe receiving-instrument and the signals tobe given.

I remark that it will be preferable to em ploy rollers orcircuit-closing blocks of alternately different colors, such as copperand brass, one indicating a positive pulsation, the other a negativepulsation, so as to aid the operator in arranging the rollers to composethe message. The straight bars may be supported by grooved rollers andmoved along progressively by the ma gneto-electrie machine that actsupon rack-teeth upon such bars. This instrument for transmitting thealternating currents of a magneto-electric machine, when connected withthe relay-instrument, Figs. 1, 2, 3, and the receiving-instrument, Fig.5, is adapted to producing the dots and dashes of the Morse or otheralphabet, or the alphabet composed of dots, as has heretofore been used.

Ido not claim a range of movable pins to which end motion iscommunicated. as these have been employed for opening and closing anelectric circuit.

1 claim as my invention- 1. The rollers 3 3 upon the wires 2 2, andwithin the grooved wheel or bar, in combination with the cord at andcircuit-closing mechanism, substantially as set forth.

2. The swinging circuit-changer or needle 0 within the helix 1?, and thepermanent magnets 1" and 8, arranged as set forth, in combination withthe bar 00, that connects the said magnets r s and the helix w,surrounding such bar, as set forth.

3. The polarized lever l and ink-roller l operated by the magnets )t nand electric circuits, in combination with the blade on and rollers mfor moving a strip of paper in contact with such blade and contiguous tothe ink-roller, for the purposes set forth.

4:. The combination, in a telegraph transmitting-instrument, of movablecircuit-closing rollers or blocks, a key, a magneto-electric machine,and gearing connecting the parts, substantially as specified, fortransmitting reverse currents alternately and at intervals, to form themessage, as set forth.

Signed by me this 1st day of June, A. D. 1875.

OTTO I-IEIKEL.

Witnesses:

GEO. T. PINGKNEY, CHAS. H. SMITH.

